


Crystal Engineering

by Chimera_Boss



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate universe- alternate timeline, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-08-15
Packaged: 2018-07-14 08:57:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7164524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chimera_Boss/pseuds/Chimera_Boss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steven, Connie, Greg and the Crystal gems gather on the beach to watch shooting stars, but spot something shocking flying across the night sky.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Star Storm

Steven pushed open the screen door, a folding chair held high over his head. He took a breath of the cool air rolling off the sea while his eyes adjusted to the light of the setting sun reflecting off the water. Down below he could see his dad was pulling the first set of burgers and hot dogs off the grill, and the Gems were sitting nearby talking. He smiled wide as he turned and started running down the stairs. 

“Steven!” Connie’s voice was distant, but Steven could still hear it over the sound of his sandals hitting the stairs. He had gone to retrieve an extra chair just in time. Calling upon all the speed his body could muster without risking a nasty fall, Steven raced down the stairs and landed with a stomp on the sand.

“Connie!” Steven beamed as she came within speaking distance. “What’s in that bag on your back?”

“It’s my telescope!” Connie said as she shifted the black bag hanging from her shoulder. “I convinced my mom to let me bring it for the educational value of being able to closely observe meteorological phenomena. She made me promise not to get my carrying case dirty though.”

Greg called out from the grill, letting the kids know the food was ready. Peridot exited the house and stood at the top of the stairs, looking down and Steven and Connie as they ran across the beach, pretending she had no interest in joining them. It wouldn’t be long now before it was dark enough to see the stars.

“I can’t believe you’ve never gotten to see a meteor shower before Connie!” Steven said while dressing his hot dog with a ketchup face and mustard bow tie. 

“I’ve seen 3D modeled recreations of showers, and I’ve read all about them, I’ve just never had the chance to watch one in person. I bet with all the things you get to see on a regular basis something like this must be kind of dull, huh?” She sighed as she looked at him, mouth stuffed full of hotdog, wondering if he’d ever get the chance to see a comet up close, or visit another planet. If anyone would be able to, it would be him. After all, he was technically half alien. 

Steven swallowed hard to get the partially chewed mouthful of hotdog down his throat. “Are you kidding? I love meteor showers! Me and my dad got to see one the last time we went camping!”

Connie grabbed a can of off brand cola from the cooler by the grill. “Really? I’ve never been camping before. My mom would never let me sleep in a non-bug free environment. Where did you go camping?”

“Behind the Car Wash.” He said with a big smile. “We sent up a tent, had a campfire, and we made S’mores while we watched it! It was a lot of fun.”

“I don’t know if it counts as camping if you’re still in the city.” She said jokingly. 

“It’s camping as long as you’re outside!” He assured her.

Pearl approached as Greg set out a full plate of hot dogs. She gave the food a disapproving glace. 

“Steven, I appreciate all the trouble you’ve gone through for us to view this meteor event, but are you certain we shouldn’t be doing this from inside?” Pearl asked with sincere concern in her voice. 

“We wouldn’t have much of a view from inside.” Steven said as he took another bite of his hotdog.

“I’m just concerned about you and Connie, and Greg. I know you’re half gem, but don’t you think it might be a bit dangerous to be on the beach when the shower begins? You know there is a small chance that a fragment could survive passing through the atmosphere, and at that velocity it could be potentially harmful.”

“Relax Pearl,” Steven said reassuringly. “The last guy who got hit by a space rock got to be on the news, and he was fine! Except I think he can’t smell anymore, or something.”

Pearl remained visibly concerned. 

“Based on the angle of entry we’re several hundred kilometers away from where any meteorites would land if they remained intact after passing through the atmosphere. If it was going to hit anyone, it wouldn’t be any of us.”

Pearl relaxed enough to smile. “Oh, alright.”

“Hrm.” Peridot muttered from a distance. She had gradually made her way down the stairs and was now leaning against a rock and glaring at the sky. “Do humans really celebrate the mundane occurrence of space debris failing to overcome the friction of the Earth’s atmosphere? Next you’ll be telling me you have a holiday for grass growing. Heh, humans.”

Steven saw Peridot and yelled for her to come join everyone. She frowned, turned her back on him, grumbled some more, then turned around and headed over. She criticized the primitive distance reduction tool Connie was setting up. Connie began to explain how it worked, but was interrupted by Amethyst shouting “Neeerd!” from across the beach. 

“So you just look into this hole?” Peridot said as she leaned over and looked through the telescope. “I can’t see anything.” 

Steven took a turn looking after Peridot was done. 

“That’s just because it’s still light out. It’s going to be hard to see much of anything until it gets dark.” Connie explained. “A meteor shower isn’t bright enough to be seen with the light of the sun still-“

“Guys! Guys it’s starting!” Steven began shouting and waving one of his arms. Garnet and Amethyst came over to see what all the commotion was about. 

“What? But its two hours early!” Connie exclaimed. “Are you sure it’s not just a plane?”

“I’m positive! It’s a big one too! It must be a shooting star or something!” Steven exclaimed.

When Connie finally caught sight of what Steven was looking at she gasped in surprise. 

“But… There’s not supposed to be something that big going by today. That would be even bigger news than a meteor shower.” Connie and everyone else could see the bright light and long tail of what appeared to be a comet. She squinted and could have sworn it was… no, her eyes weren’t deceiving her, it was getting bigger, and quickly.

Garnet looked down at the telescope, then up into the sky. She stared into the distance for a moment before grabbing the telescope and raising it to eye level, pointing it towards the fast moving object. After a moment, she set it back down and lowered her visor. 

“That’s no shooting star.”

As if on cue the white light streaking across the sky suddenly took a sharp 90 degree turn. Connie gasped in confusion, Steven went “woah” in wonder, and Peridot recoiled in shock. Garnet was unresponsive. 

“What’s wrong with it?” Peridot asked critically. The erratic cosmic entity flew out of sight, past the temple, leaving the humans and gems alike on the beach stunned and confused. 

“I don’t understand.” Connie said. “If it wasn’t a shooting star or a meteor, what was it?”

“A gem.” Garnet said. “Surrounded by light, shooting through the air.”

“Excuse me?” Pearl interjected. 

“Can Gems do that?” Steven said with a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

“This one can.” Garnet responded. “This might be trouble.”

Amethyst threw a hotdog into the back of her mouth and swallowed. “What’s the big deal? It’s gone already. And I’m only on my fifth hot dog!”

Pearl sighed. “Garnet is right. Whatever that thing is, it can’t mean well. I just hope this isn’t some kind of scout from Homeworld.”

“Oh please.” Peridot interjected. “If Homeworld were sending anything at this point, it would be a squadron of soldiers or a battle droid, not scouts.”

“Thanks for that, Peridot.” Pearl said flatly. 

The sounds of car horns blaring and tires screeching could be heard from town. 

“Gems, let’s move.” Garnet commanded. They were in action immediately, with Steven close behind. 

“Wait! I’m coming too!” Connie said as she folded up her telescope as quickly as possible and slipped it back into its bag. She ran over to Greg and handed it to him before leaving. 

“Guess I’d better hold off on the rest of those burgers, huh?” Greg said with a sad smile. He was doing a poor job of disguising his disappointment that his food probably wouldn’t be eaten. “You kids be careful, alright?”

Connie nodded and took off, sprinting to catch up with Steven. The rest of the gems were already far ahead, making it to town just in time to see the shooting star closer than ever. With a sound like rushing water and falling shards of glass, a bright green gem surrounded by light shot down the street. Garnet raised her hands and her gauntlets appeared. She prepared to catch the fast moving object, but it pulled another sharp turn and shot straight up into the air before turning left. 

“Don’t let it escape!” Garnet ordered as she jumped onto the roof of a building. She directed Pearl and Amethyst into position from her vantage point. She watched it fly through the big doughnut that sat atop The Big Doughnut, knocked one of the fries off the Fryman’s store, and then took off in the direction of the temple.

“Pearl! It’s coming your way! Get ready to shoot it down!” 

“I’ve got it!” Pearl shouted while aiming her spear. Though it flew mostly in straight lines, the comets ability to make abrupt sharp turns or suddenly break into spirals or zig zags made it a difficult target.

“Ready, aim…” Garnet carefully watched the erratic behavior of the flying gem and foresaw the perfect moment to strike. For a brief instant yet to come, she saw it move in a straight line, giving Pearl the best chance to land a shot.

“Fire!”

Just as she had seen, Pearl fired a bolt from her spear that struck the gem perfectly. The light surrounding it flickered, flashing as it began to fall from the sky. It came back on, wider and less focused than before, sending it rocketing forward at a downward angle. Faster than ever, it shot from the sky and landed on the beach in a huge plum of sand. 

Steven and Connie were both behind, but stopped in their tracks and turned around when they saw the shooting star fly back towards the beach. As they turned the corner, they could see the large crater left by the fallen star, and they could hear coughing. Connie cringed a bit as she heard it. It didn’t sound like the cough one would expect from someone caught in a dust cloud. It was the kind of painful cough alongside desperate wheezing she sometimes heard in hospitals or on TV. She instinctively stepped forward to get a closer look.

“Stay back!” Garnet warned as she and the other gems arrived. They advanced into the crater first. In the center, on its hands and knees coughing, was the small humanoid form of a gem. She was small and green, her body a shade or two lighter than Peridot’s, with a perfectly round afro, holding something to her forehead. It emitted a bright light, then faded. 

“Halt!” Pearl commanded with her spear pointed at the stranger. “Who are you, and who sent you?”

“It was an accident I swear!” Cried a young, scared voice from behind the thinning veil of sand. “I-I didn’t mean to knock over the French fry! Don’t hurt me!”

Steven came forward, holding onto Garnet’s leg and looking up at her with those eyes that pleaded for mercy. Garnet hesitated, then put a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. Pearl understood and lowered her weapon, but insisted the stranger answer her questions. 

“Helenite.” The figure said in between deep breaths. “My name’s Helenite.”

“Helenite?” Pearl said with a quizzical look on her face. “I’ve never heard that name before.”

Garnet stepped forward. “Are you from Homeworld?”

“No?” She said with clear confusion. “Are you guys… gems?”

“We’re the Crystal Gems!” Steven proudly announced. “We’re not here to hurt you, we just thought you were one of the Homeworld gems trying to hunt us down.”

“I was just exploring is all.” She stood up and rubbed the sand out of her eyes. “I’ve never seen this place before, and I love looking around human cities. I guess I got a little carried away.”

She began slowly taking steps backwards. Garnet noticed this and took a step forward, which made Helenite visibly uncomfortable. 

“I uh, didn’t know there were other gems out there!” She said with a nervous smile. “I thought it was just me and-” her eyes went wide as she seemed to remember something.

“You and who?” Garnet insisted. Helenite was silent. Garnet took another step forward. Helenite recoiled and her body began to glow. The transformation was erratic, with her limbs breaking up into pixilated clusters before her torso and finally her head, until her entire body dissolved into light. 

The crystal gems looked on in shock and confusion as they saw the gem transform. It was a bizarre, disjointed shift rather than the smooth effortless norm. The pixilated, twinkling mass began to hover backwards. 

“Wait!” Steven called out. “We’re not gunna hurt you! We just want to know-“

Before he could finish, and before Amethyst could swing her whip to catch her, Helenite shot straight up into the air, twinkling high up in the air before taking a ninety degree turn and shooting off across the ocean. Rather than flying in purely straight lines, Helenite wobbled and dipped as she flew.

“She’s still damaged from the shot to her gem. We have to follow her and get to the bottom of this.” Garnet said looking to Amethyst. 

“No problem.” Amethyst stretched her arms a bit before transforming into a purple helicopter. 

“Connie, you should stay here.” Garnet instructed as the other crystal gems got into Amethyst’s helicopter. “We’ll be back as soon as we catch up with Helenite and see what she’s up to.”

“Okay, but please be careful. She seemed really scared, and I know gems don’t really get sick but… she didn’t sound okay.”

“Don’t worry Connie.” Steven said. “I’ll make sure everyone stays safe. Helenite included.” 

Connie smiled and stepped back as Amethyst took off into the air, following the bright light in front of them. It wasn’t clear if Helenite could tell they were following her, but she did seem to be in distress. The light surrounding her gem occasionally went out completely, causing her to drop before it came back and she shot upwards again at an angle before getting back on course. Her lack of direction allowed Amethyst to keep up despite Helenite’s sheer speed. Even with her advantage though, the chase went on for quite some time. 

Rather than simply knock her out of the air again, Garnet instructed Amethyst to let her lead them back to whoever it was she wanted to keep secret. Across the ocean, back onto land, and eventually towards a rocky mountainside. Helenite descended sharply, turning back into a ball of light before hitting the ground and reverting back to her humanoid shape. She got up and started coughing again before she turned around and saw the Amethyst-copter descending nearby. She shouted in surprise. Steven and the gems jumped out before Amethyst reverted to normal and pulled out her whip.

“Wait! Don’t go in there!” She shouted. 

“In where? There’s nothing here. Kinda dull actually. ” Amethyst observed. They stood on dark, rocky earth with not even a single blade of grass in front of a tall cliff face. The wall of rock behind Helenite had only a single narrow crack in it, not large enough for even the small gem to squeeze into. 

Helenite looked panicked. “In… nowhere?” 

She started coughing again. The gem on her forehead looked warped, as if it were glass starting to melt. Steven stepped forward. 

“Listen, we’re sorry for shooting at you like that. Are you still hurt? That cough sounds really bad.”

“No no, I’m fine. It’s always like this.” She reached up into her hair and pulled out what looked like a pen with a glass ball on the end. She held it up to the gem on her forehead and took a deep breath as it shined a light into her gem that made it glow brightly. After a few seconds, her gem was restored. 

“Woah, what is that?” Steven asked as he came closer, which Helenite didn’t seem to mind. 

“It’s just my stabilizer.” She explained. “I have to use it sometimes or my gem starts breaking down. Morion made it for me when-“ She stopped and got a terrified look in her eyes, the same as before, and looked up at the other gems. 

“Is that who you’re trying to keep us from?” Garnet asked with her arms crossed. She raised a hand and pointed at the crack in the cliff behind her. “Is that who you’re hiding in there?”

“Please, just leave us alone!” Helenite pleaded. “It was my fault, I didn’t mean to break anything! Morion’s gunna get really mad if she finds out I was near humans again! I wasn’t supposed to be seen!” 

Garnet started to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of splitting rock. The crack in the stone wall grew taller, and then began to split apart. It opened slowly, revealing a small, dark cave. 

“No no no no no!” Helenite tugged at her hair franticly. She looked to Steven, the only one she didn’t seem afraid of. Steven looked from Helenite to the rock, then to the gems.

“Let’s hide!” He suggested. 

Pearl looked at the opening cave suspiciously. “Steven, I know you want to look for the best in everyone, but these gems could be dangerous.”

“We’re not dangerous!” Helenite said defensively. 

“Please Pearl.” Steven begged. “Shouldn’t we at least give her a chance? We can hide behind the rocks over there and see what happens!”

A humming sound could be heard from inside of the cave. The floor opened up, and a metal cylinder with a door rose up. Steven ran behind a rock and looked up at Garnet, who sighed and pulled Pearl and Amethyst along with her. The doors opened, and a tall figure stepped out. Helenite stood twisting her hands together as heavy footsteps drew closer and closer, until the figure stepped into the light. 

“H-hey Morion.” Helenite said in a desperate attempt to sound casual. The gem that emerged was tall, easily six feet in height, with a triangular gem sticking out of her right shoulder. She was mostly black, save for a vertical brown stripe down the front of her chest and a set of three triangular dots that resembled a jacket with buttons. Her hair resembled an upside down triangle. She wore a thick metal bracelet on their right arm with blinking lights on it. Her expression was stern, but indifferent, and her half open eyes looked down on Helenite with what resembled boredom, disdain, or perhaps contempt. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem she was happy to see her. 

“Five.” She said in a monotone voice.

“Five?” Helenite asked with a cringe.

“The motion sensor picked up five beings in the vicinity. Humanoid. Two your size, three larger.” She looked up at the boulders that littered the empty field before them. 

“Where are they.” Even her question sounded more like a statement. 

Helenite was silent. Steven looked up at Pearl, Pearl and Amethyst looked to Garnet. Garnet sighed and walked out from behind the rock. The other gems and Steven stepped out soon after. 

“I see.” Morion stated plainly. “So Homeworld hasn’t forgotten about this planet after all.”

“What’s… Homeworld?” Helenite asked.

“The planet our species originates from.”

“Is… is it where To-“

“Stop.” Morion said sternly as she looked down at Helenite. “Not another word. Not in front of them. I will answer your questions later.”

Morion stepped past Helenite and began walking towards the Crystal Gems. Her footsteps were heavy and precise, like those of a soldier. 

“She’s a Quartz.” Pearl observed.

“And she doesn’t look too friendly.” Amethyst added. Garnet summoned her gauntlets. Morion raised a hand to her gem and extended her thumb, drawing it across her chest. Her gem glowed and three beams of light shot across her, forming a shoulder guard with three long spikes jutting out on her left shoulder. 

“Morion wait!” Helenite called out. Morion stopped. 

“Garnet! Shouldn’t we try to talk things over first?” Steven said while holding her leg. Garnet looked down at him, then at Morion. Helenite was holding onto Morion’s leg in a similar fashion. Garnet paused, then looked up at Morion. 

“We are the Crystal Gems.” Garnet said. “We protect the Earth from threats, both of this world and any other. We came here because we didn’t know there were any other gems living on Earth. We’re not from Homeworld.”

“So you have no intentions of entering this facility.” Morion stated. Or maybe asked. It wasn’t clear.

“No.” Garnet said. Morion immediately turned around and began walking back towards the cave. Helenite looked at the gems once more before following after. 

“Wait!” Steven called out. Morion didn’t stop. 

“Not exactly neighborly, is she?” Amethyst said as she kicked a rock. “Do we even need to bother with these guys? They live in a cave in the middle of nowhere.”

“The question is, what are they doing out here?” Pearl asked before jogging to catch up with Morion. “Listen, how long have you been here, exactly? When did you arrive on Earth? And just how many of you are there?”

“Providing you with information would only potentially endanger my job. I have no intention of engaging with you.” Morion responded. 

“Come on, Morion.” Helenite said quietly. “We’ve never met other gems before. Maybe they could help!”

“The fact that they’re gems only makes them more dangerous.” Morion said. She came to a stop suddenly and looked down at Helenite. “You have not told them anything, have you.”

“N-no.” Helenite said. “Nothing.”

“But you let them follow you back here.”

Helenite cringed. 

“You allowed yourself to be spotted not only by a human, but by gems.”

Helenite looked at the ground. 

“You were flying near a human settlement again.”

Helenite began to tear up. “I knocked over a French fry!”

Morion raised her right arm and swiped her finger across the bracelet. It projected a screen in front of her, along with a keyboard. On it, she typed the words “French fry” into the holographic computer. It presented her with various pictures of the fried food. 

“You have not given me helpful context.” Morion stated. “But I understand. You will not go flying again for several days, and you will not go in that direction again.”

“Okay…” Helenite said sadly. She looked up at Steven and gave a half-hearted smile. “Sorry guys, it was nice meeting you.”

Steven ran up and stood in front of Morion. “Come on Morion, it was just an accident! And if she’s really never seen other gems before, don’t you think we should try to be friends?”

“No.” Morion responded immediately.

“Doesn’t it get lonely out here with just the two of you though?” He asked. 

“No.” Morion responded again. Despite her serious tone, Morion shrugged and her spiked shoulder pad disappeared.

“Your presence is a detriment to the security of this facility, and your interaction with Helenite is a potential hazard to her wellbeing. The safety of the premises and those under our care is my responsibility. I will not tolerate any preventable danger.” She caught sight of Helenite as she spoke causing her to pause for a moment, looking off to the side as she thought. She turned around and faced the gems, crossing her arms behind her back. 

“However, there is a margin for acceptable risk within which you may fall. As long as you do not present a chance of causing trouble greater than 20%, I will allow you to remain on the above-ground premises while under my supervision.” Helenite’s eyes were wide with shock as Morion said this. A broad smile swept across her face, and she jumped onto Morion’s torso, hugging her with all the strength in her small arms. 

“Oh my God Morion thank you so much I can’t believe it!” Helenite shouted with excitement. Morion didn’t react. 

“Well, it’s better than nothing.” Steven said. “But are you sure we can’t come inside?”

“Yes.” Morion responded. “A single human, or even four humans, would only pose a risk of 10% even if you made it inside. A single gem is at least a 20%. Two gems fused together is 50%.” She turned around and began walking back towards the cave again. “I shall return in approximately ten minutes. I have schedule maintenance to attend to. Helenite, you will return to your room until I am done.”

“Now wait just a minute!” Pearl interjected. “I can’t help but feel we’re the only ones making an effort to be hospitable here. You haven’t exactly given us much of a reason to trust you, much less stand around outside while you attend to whatever it is you do in there.”

“Irrelevant.” Morion said while walking. Amethyst stifled a laugh at Pearl’s exasperated expression. Helenite, still clinging to Morion, waved at the gems. 

“We’ll be back soon I promise! Morion’s never, ever late!” She hugged Morion tightly as they both stepped into the tube shaped elevator. Garnet waved to the other gems to come closer, and they began talking amongst themselves about how to handle this. 

“Whatever she’s doing in there, it can’t be good, right?” Pearl said. “We can’t just leave without finding out who these gems are and how many of them are in there.”

“Let’s just take out tall dark and no-fun and get in there then. The three of us could totally take her.” Amethyst smiked and looked at Garnet. 

“We can’t risk walking into a trap. We don’t know who these gems are or what they want. Besides, starting a confrontation now would upset Steven.” Garnet’s mention of him made them all look up, only to find Steven was no longer standing next to them. They looked up to see him hiding near the mouth of the cave as Morion got onto the elevator. He crept around the cave entrance and hid next to the elevator doors, just out of sight

“Steven!” All three of the gems cried out at once as Steven slipped into the elevator. Morion looked down at him, then closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. 

“Ten percent!” Steven shouted as the doors shut. The gems ran towards the cave, but the metal elevator sank back into the ground.


	2. The Vet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven enters the underground facility. There he signs a Guest Log, and learns more about Helinite and Morion. Meanwhile, the Crystal Gems attempt to rescue him and make a discovery of their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's chapter is a multi-media experience, by which I mean I linked some music for a particular scene. It's entirely optional, but I felt it only right to mention you should open the link in another tab to prevent losing your place in the story. With that out of the way, please enjoy.

“Steven!” Helenite shouted. “What are you, I mean, you can’t!”

Morion’s fists were clenched tightly behind her back, but she remained still as the elevator descended. Steven looked up at her and tried to reassure her with a friendly smile. 

“Well you did say a human was only ten percent risk, right? So if I go by myself, it’s inside of the twenty percent limit.” 

“Correct.” Morion responded. “However, it is undeniably certain that the three gems with you will attempt to enter the facility to retrieve you. This, along with their most likely agitated states as a result of your reckless behavior, will heighten the risk of damage to certainty. It takes this elevator 7 seconds to reach floor B1, 2 seconds for the doors to close after we exit, and 7 more seconds for it to return to the surface. That’s at least 16 seconds of unmitigated chaos.”

Steven cringed, aware that Morion was probably right. He looked over at Helenite who was squeezing one hand with the other.

“Well, don’t worry. I’m sure he gems will fix anything they break on the way down. Well, I’m sure Pearl will.” Steven smiled reassuringly at Helenite, who grinned nervously in appreciation but was clearly unconvinced. The elevator halted without the usual ding or chime and the doors slid open, revealing a dark empty room. The light from the elevator revealed only stretch of white tile floor. Morion stepped out immediately. For just a moment, Steven could have sworn he saw something move in the darkness past Morion. 

A second after she stepped out, the lights in the room flickered on, brightening the clearly empty room. It was a room that distinctly resembled the waiting room at a doctor’s office. On the left wall was a counter with a pane of glass above it, behind which there was a small room a secretary would probably sit in. On the right was a white couch, white table, and a small pile of featureless white blocks. Next to the blocks was a box of markers, the only colorful thing in the white room. There were two doors, one across from the elevator at the far end, and one on the left next to the counter that lead behind the counter.

“Helenite.” Morion said as she walked to the door at the far end of the room, which had MAIN HALL written on it in black letters. “I am altering my previous instructions and temporarily deputizing you. You are to remain with Steven and supervise him in my absence. I shall return when scheduled maintenance is done.”

Helenite gave an excited squeal as Morion stopped in her tracks and turned back around.

“But first,” She took a clip board from the counter and handed it to Steven. On it was a paper titled “Guest Log”, and a pen. Steven happily signed his name and put the date. Morion examined his signature and then set the clip board back on the counter, then left through the main hall door. 

Steven walked over to the couch and noticed, upon closer inspection, that it had sharp edges and perfectly rectangular cushions. He reached out and touched one. Yup, rock hard. They were made of the same material as the floor, and probably the walls and counter too. Helenite scampered to the door beside the counter, jumping to reach the unusually high doorknob and pull it open. While she was inside, Steven tried out the markers on the blocks. He drew his face, the Cyrstal gems, Helenite and Morion on a side each. A flash of light behind him made him turn around to find Helenite suddenly standing behind him, wearing a sculpted badge made of more white stone, with “Deputy Assistant Veterinary Technician Assistant” written on it in marker.

“That’s a cool badge!” Steven said as Helenite beamed with pride. 

“Thanks! I made it myself last time Morion deputized me. That was a long time ago though, so I haven’t gotten to wear it in foreeever. Lucky Morion keeps everything so organized!”

“Yeah.” Steven smiled. “So uh, what is this place?”

“Facility T.3.V.” Helenite said proudly. “I forget what it stands for, but I always just called it The Vet!”

***

“Hurry up Garnet!” Pearl shouted over the rhythmic crash of Garnet’s gauntlets pounding against the ground. The steel doors covering the elevator shaft in the cave’s floor were holding up admirably, but starting to bend under the force of Garnet’s determined assault. 

“I can’t believe he would do something so irresponsible.” Pearl was pacing back and forth, unable to help and unable to calm down. “Oh who am I kidding, of course I can! I should have known he would do something like this. I should have stopped him. You know I’m starting to think we should put a leash on him!”

“Would you just relax Pearl?” Amethyst stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently. “I’m sure he’s fine. I mean its Steven we’re talking about. He’s probably gunna be playing checkers with them by the time we get down there.”

“We don’t know that! Who knows what sort of-of… nefarious activities that quartz and her cohorts are up to down there?”

“ _Nefarious activities?_ ” Amethyst replied sarcastically. Pearl frowned in frustration. 

“The last time we had visitors, they tried to abduct us, and they wanted to experiment on Steven! I thought he would remember that and be more careful, but now he’s-!”

Her woes were interrupted by a loud humming. Garnet ceased her attack as the metal doors attempted to open. Dented from her punches, they made a loud unpleasant grinding noise as they pulled apart. Once they were open, the elevator rose from the earth once more, and its doors opened. The Gems exchanged looks. 

“Should we?” Pearl asked. Garnet answered by silently getting into the elevator. Amethyst and Pearl followed quickly after. The elevator doors shut, and a set of speakers in the ceiling crackled to life, playing a [smooth instrumental song.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mh1D0bcWV0&feature=youtu.be) Its simplicity and mellowness made Pearl smile, despite the situation. After a few seconds of elevator travel the doors opened again, and the Gems emerged to a plain white room in which the elevator music was also playing, empty aside from a familiar figure sitting behind the counter on the left. 

“Hello.” Morion sat behind the glass with her hands folded on the countertop. “Welcome to Facility T.3.V. Also known as The Vet."

“Where is Steven?” Garnet demanded quietly, but sternly. 

“Steven is with Helenite. They have most likely gone to Helenite’s room. Do not worry, she has been officially deputized as my temporary assistant.” She slid the clip board with the Guest Log on it forward expectantly as the gems approached the counter. Pearl slammed her hands on the counter and leaned forward. 

“Now you listen here you brute, you tell us where you’ve taken Steven right now!”

Morion stared at the Guest Log.

“As I stated previously, Steven is under Helenite’s care. I played no part in their movement from this room. However there are a very limited number of places they could possibly be, based on Helenite’s access to this facility. I suggest you sign the Guest Log so that I may escort you to Helenite’s room.”

Amethyst approached the main hall door and pointed to it. “Is it this way?”

Morion stared at the Guest Log. “Yes. However, entry to the facility is not permitted until you-.”

Amethyst was through the door the moment Morion said yes. Pearl and Garnet followed shortly after. Morion sat at the counter in front of the Guest Log and sighed.

***

“Welcome to my room!” Helenite declared proudly. She stood in front of a featureless grey metal door, not unlike the many others in the hallway, distinguished only by a plaque on the wall next to it that read “ROOM 102”. She touched the door with her hand and it glowed green, opening a moment after. Steven squinted at the blindingly bright interior. The floors, the walls, even the ceiling all gave off a bright glow, slightly tinted green. It was impossible to make out anything inside the room, but the faint shadows were evident that there were indeed furniture and things inside. 

“It’s kinda bright!” Steven commented. 

“You get used to it.” Helenite stepped inside, disappearing into the light. She emerged with a large figurine of a monster with seven eyes and one huge arm. It was painted several different colors. 

“Check it out! I got this all the way in Boxtown!”

“Woah!” Steven said, genuinely impressed. He carefully took the figurine and examined it. “This is awesome! And I’ve never heard of Boxtown before!”

“Well, it might not actually be called that. It was really far away, and I couldn’t read any of the signs, so I just called it Boxtown because some of the letters looked like boxes.” She stepped back into her room and emerged again with what looked like a petrified Kebab. It was covered in what may have once been garlic sauce, but was now a solidified stony prison for what might have once been meat and vegetables. 

“That’s… cool too!” Steven said reluctantly. “Where’d you get that from?”

“All the way in Big Clock City.” She said proudly. She handed it to Steven and stepped inside again. Steven felt something drip onto his hand that made him shiver. From inside, Helenite giggled. 

“And this is what I got when I was in Beach-Tropolis earlier today!” She emerged holding something hidden in her hands. 

“You mean Beach City?” Steven asked. 

“Nah, I used City already, so I’m calling this one a Tropolis.” 

Steven nodded, seeing no reason to correct her. “That makes sense.”

She extended her hands and opened them, revealing a transparent capsule with a blue cap. Inside was a small figure of a woman in a lab coat holding a dog. 

“Veterinary Technician Gal!” Steven almost dropped the monster figure and kebab try to set them down as quickly as possible so he could take the Gal from Helenite and look at it close up. 

“Isn’t she awesome!?” Helenite exclaimed. “She’s super smart, and tough, and nice to animals. She’s just like Morion!”

“Wow, really?” Steven realized his question might have sounded a bit rude. “Uh, how do you know Veterinary Technician Gal is tough?”

“Cause I accidentally dropped her when… your friends shot me down.” She and Steven both smiled nervously.

“But look, there’s a crack on her face from when she fell, but the dog isn’t hurt at all!” Helenite pointed. “Even though she’s made of plastic, she made sure nothing happened to the little dog when they fell! And she keeps smiling even though she’s hurt!” 

“Woah.” Steven smiled. “You make Morion sound like a really great person. I bet once the gems get down here we can all hang out!”

“Really? That would be cool.” She squinted at Veterinary Technician Gal. “Actually, that crack on her face reminds me of-“

“Steven!” The voices of all three of the Crystal Gems from the end of the long hallway cut through the darkness. The motion sensors caused ceiling lights to turn on, illuminating them at the end of the dark hall. Helenite retreated slightly into her room. 

“Guys!” Steven called out. “You made it!”

“Steven, what were you thinking?” Pearl shouted. “Get back here this instant!”

Amethyst looked back at the hall they’d come down, noticing that the lights were already turning out behind them. “Yeah, this place is super creepy. Let’s get outta here.”

“No way!” Steven replied. “You guys gotta come see this cool stuff Helenite has!”

He looked over to Helenite, who was sticking only her head out from the doorway to look at the other gems. She seemed to have no intention of stepping all the way out, even as Steven moved aside invitingly. 

Garnet began walking forward. “Steven, step away from that gem.”

“Garnet, please! She’s really nice! Look, she even has Gals!”

The gems were all advancing down the hallway now. Amethyst and Pearl eyed the many doors in the hall suspiciously. Some of them had windows, but they were all too dark inside to see. Helenite retreated fully into the white veil of her overly bright room as the gems arrived, separated from the door only by Steven. 

“Come on Steven.” Pearl extended her hand. “We’re getting out of here. Please say goodbye to your… friend.”

“Aw guys…” Steven said disappointedly. Helenite emerged from her room, eyes wide, clutching something close to her chest. The gems and Steven all looked at her as she struggled to maintain eye contact. Staring mostly at the floor, she forced herself to speak. 

“Hi!” She forced a smile. “I’m Helenite! But uh, I already said that.” She held out what she was holding, a book titled “Navigating by the Stars”.

“Do you guys like reading?” She grinned. 

“No.” Amethyst replied. 

“O-oh.” Helenite said dejectedly. She began to inch back towards her room. Steven tapped Pearl’s leg and looked up at her with big, sad eyes.

“Um,” Pearl began as she stepped forward. “I like reading. Sometimes.”

“Really?” Helenite perked up a bit. “Me too! Morion got me this book so I wouldn’t get lost when I’m flying.”

“How do you do that anyway?” Amethyst asked, joining Pearl. 

“Morion says I’m “Unstable”, so I can’t stay solid very well.” She used air quotes for emphasis. “When I try to change, I get all spread out and glowey, and I can fly cause I’m so light! I’ve gotten really good at it too!”

“I’ll say.” Amethyst said. “I could barely keep up with you back there!”

Steven smiled, noticing Helenite wasn’t retreating as the gems got closer anymore. He looked up at Garnet, who stood patiently and watched. For now, everything was going well. Then, the lights turned on at the end of the hall. The gems turned to see Morion making her way down the hall, clip board in hand. 

“Morion I made friends!” Helnite shouted excitedly.

“Good.” Morion replied. “You efforts to prepare for socialization have paid off. There should be a noticeable positive change in your emotional state.”

Morion extended the Guest Log immediately. With a bit of urging from Steven, Pearl and Amethyst both signed the log. There was thick tension in the air as Morion and Garnet matched unwavering stares for several seconds. Eventually, Garnet reached out, took the clip board, and signed. Morion seemed relieved.

“You have given only the name of your fusion,” Morion observed. “If you separate while on the premises, please sign again individually.”

Garnet didn’t reply, but Morion didn’t wait for a response. She walked past the group and further down the hall. At the end was a closed door that read “B1-B5”. She touched it and it glowed a dull brown. Behind the door was a staircase leading down. 

“Where does that go?” Steven asked.

“None of your concern.” Morion responded as she began descending the stairs. The door closed behind her, but not before a strange, far off noise could be heard. It sounded like a high pitched, distorted voice. The gems looked at each other with concern before looking to Helenite. 

“That’s just the stairs.” She said innocently. 

“To where?” Garnet asked. 

“To the rest of the floors. Only the patients that are almost ready to leave get to stay on the first floor. There’s more equipment and stuff lower down.”

Pearl looked up at the other doors. “Patients?”

Steven could sense what was on everyone’s minds, but felt it would be better to have the question come from him. “Helenite… what is this place?”

Helenite looked down at her badge. “Facility T.3.V. I gave it the nickname Vet cause… that acronym looks like Vet in a mirror. But also cause Morion and-uh, cause they take care of other gems here, just like a Vet’s office.”

“Isn’t that more like a hospital?” Steven asked. 

“What’s a hospital?” She responded. 

“Wait wait wait,” Pearl interjected. “Just what do you mean by “other gems”?”

“I’m not supposed to talk about too much stuff for security reasons, but I guess just anybody who needs help? Gems that get sick, or hurt, or even smashed.”

The gems were all taken aback by this, even Steven. 

“They… fix shattered gems here?” Pearl said in disbelief. 

“Well, they try.” Helenite clarified. “Morion says I used to be shattered, that she took a broken gem’s pieces and tried to put them together again, but there wasn’t enough of them left. So she used this science stuff to fill in what was missing, and instead she made me.”

Helenite’s proud expression darkened as she saw the looks in the Crystal Gems faces. All but Steven looked very unsettled, even horrified. Garnet began walking towards the stairs. Helenite began to call out, hesitated, but then gathered the courage to follow her. 

“Y-you can’t go down there. Only Morion can open the doors.”

“What about her Deputy?” Garnet asked. Helenite frowned and thought for a moment. 

“I don’t think Morion would want me to let you down there.”

Steven tried to follow Helenite and Garnet, but Pearl held him back. “I think it’s time to go now Steven.”

“But Pearl.” Steven used his sad eyes again, but they had no effect. Pearl began pulling him back, but he resisted. Garnet touched the stairway door. It glowed red, but did not open. Helenite was still trying to persuade her to stop. 

“Outsiders aren’t supposed to walk around the facility unsupervised!” She pleaded.

“I’m under your supervision.” Garnet responded. She crouched down and looked close at Helenite. “Please. Aren’t we friends?”

Helenite looked at Garnet, then at her badge. With a frustrated groan of internal struggle, she reached out and touched the door, uncertain if it would work. The door glowed green, then brown, then it opened. Garnet stood back up. The stairway was silent. 

“Gems.” She called. Amethyst, Pearl and Steven all looked over. “Let’s investigate.”


	3. Dark Descent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and the gems descend deeper into the Vet. There’s a tension between Morion and the others, Steven is thankful he does not have a pet dander allergy, and everyone is bothered by whistling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day, because I'm impatient.

“Please keep all hands and feet behind the railing when descending the stairs. Watch your step, and stay behind me.” Helenite lead what she was calling the tour group down the stairs. Technically, Garnet was deciding the path they took, but Helenite did her best to stay in front of them. That way she could at least feel like she was in control, and if Morion showed up it would appear that way. 

Steven felt bad for how things had turned out, but the gems were too determined to investigate at this point. All he could do was tag along and try to keep things from getting worse. He couldn’t help but feel this place was pretty creepy though. It was three flights down to get to the second floor, where another long hallway stretched out before them with a large set of double doors at the end. Surprisingly, this one was better lit. All the lights were on rather than just the ones with someone standing beneath them. The walls, door and floors were all a dull grey. There weren’t as many doors in this hall. 

“Welcome to floor two. I’m still not supposed to tell you guys too much, but basically the lower down you go, the more serious the case is. Patients like me who are mostly okay stay on the first floor. Patients down here are well enough to move around, but can’t leave the facility like I can. Normally the doors are open, and they can go upstairs, but Morion locked everything down before she let you in.” Helenite stood firmly in the hall, hoping Garnet would lose interest and turn back, but she pushed past and continued down the hall. Helenite looked very troubled. Before she could catch up with Garnet, Pearl put a hand on her shoulder. 

“Listen, Helenite, you seem like a very responsible assistant, and I can understand you following the rules, but we’re not here to cause trouble. We just want to make sure everything here is, well,-”

Steven chimed in. “Up to code! Every medical clinic has to be up to safety code, right?”

“Right!” Pearl agreed. “So, can you at least tell us why you can’t tell us anything?”

Helenite rubbed her hands together. Her gem was starting to look warped again as the stress of the encounter began to wear on her. “Well… because Morion said so.”

“And why do you think she did that?” Pearl quickly glanced up to see Garnet examining the doors in the hall. More dark rooms. All but one, near the end. 

Helenite continued. “Well… she always told me sticking to rules made sure nobody messed up anything. She said even she had to keep away from things she didn’t understand.”

Helenite caught sight of Amethyst, who was staring down the hall at Garnet, and turned around. 

“No wait!” Helenite called out and began running after her. As she did, there was a loud slam from the other side of one of the walls, followed by a deep rumbling. Helenite fell to the side in shock, bumping into the door on the opposite end. The door glowed green, and Helenite began to panic. It glowed brown next, and finally, went out without opening. Her deputy status wasn’t enough to open these doors, which made her breathe a sigh of relief. 

The sudden commotion had caught Garnet’s attention. She looked back at the door with the lit window, but it was dark now. 

“Woah.” Amethyst said as she approached the door on the side of the hall that had produced the noise. The rumbling could still be heard from within. 

“What the heck is in there?” Amethyst asked Helenite, who thought very carefully before responding. 

“That’s Rock Lobster. Well, I call her that. She’s not so good at talking, so I don’t know what her real name is. It’s okay though, I give everyone without names a nickname they like.”

Pearl looked through the window. Her gem began to glow and shined a light into the room. It was difficult to make out what was inside. All she could see was a large pile of rocks with swords and axes and arrows sticking out of it. Based on their designs, they were gem weapons. It looked almost like some kind of memorial. 

“Where is she?” She asked, squinting. “I don’t see anyone in there.”

“She must have gone back to sleep.” Helenite suggested. The sound of an alarm cut through the air suddenly, echoing out from the staircase. Helenite spun around in shock, but calmed quickly. 

“Oh, that’s just the alarm. Morion can handle it.” Helenite said. Her breath sounded heavy, but she seemed to relax quickly. 

Amethyst looked back at Pearl and Garnet, then smiled. “Hey, Helenite, why don’t we help?”

“Help?” She asked. 

“Yeah, we can be your… deputy deputies or something. I bet if we helped out, Morion would trust us more. Just like she trusts you!” 

Helenite looked unconvinced. “I don’t know, Morion doesn’t even let me help when the alarm goes off, she says it’s too dangerous.”

Steven seemed to miss Amethyst’s hidden intentions and supported the idea. “The Crystal Gems help out people all the time! We could totally handle anything this place has to throw at us. Right guys?”

The gems exchanged looks and agreed. 

Helenite was hesitant, but looking up at three smiling faces and one of total neutrality managed to wear her down. She reached into her afro and pulled out her stabilizer wand and held it to her gem. It glowed, and the warped gem straightened until it was good as new again. With a big, confident breath, she smiled and declared “Okay! I’ll declare all of you my deputy deputies! That means I’m in charge of you, and Morion’s in charge of me, okay?”

“Okay!” Steven responded alone. 

“Okay!” Helenite turned around and began walking towards the staircase. As confident as she’d been a moment ago, that confidence seemed to fade when she actually got to the stairs. She stopped and fidgeted, but looked back and saw Steven smiling encouragingly. She smiled back, and continued on, leading them downstairs again. 

***

Morion dropped the gemstone in the center of the floor. It was regrettable whenever she had to resort to force, but this was no time for unruly behavior. Besides, the she couldn’t restrain this patient and fix their broken door at the same time. This patient had always been far too aggressive for their own good, like most of the patients on the third floor. She couldn’t risk them getting out and running into the guests. 

She held up her right arm and swiped across her bracelet with her finger. “Applying temporary bracing to door of room 311. Subtract three temporary braces from inventory.”

The bracelet computer projected a holographic screen showing a transcript of her entry and the time of recording. It also showed that there were less than a dozen temporary braces left. She made another note to schedule time to make more later. 

Morion stepped outside and picked up the sliding metal bar from the floor and dug around in her toolbox for the rivet gun. She affixed one end of the brace to the frame, and the other to the dented door that would no longer close all the way. She began to rivit the first brace into place and was half done when she heard approaching footsteps. She sighed and continued her work, putting the final rivit into place just as Helenite appeared with the Crystal Gems close behind. 

Helenite stopped when she saw Morion staring down the hall at her, arms folded behind her back. Morion shook her head. 

“I see I have been too lenient with myself. I neglected to restrict your clearance to the facility when I put you in charge of the gems.”

“It’s okay Morion, they said they wanted to help!” Helenite didn’t sound very confident, but Steven tried to back her up by smiling and giving a thumbs up from behind her. Morion didn’t seem effected. 

“Your help is neither needed nor desired. Your presence on this level alone is a breach of security and” She was interrupted by a bright flash of light from inside the room next to her. For the first time, Morion’s expression shifted a bit, the corners of her mouth twisting slightly. 

Helenite started to speak up, “Is that-“

“Helenite.” Morion said firmly to silence her. The light faded, and a deep, loud whimper could be heard from inside. Morion glared into the room, but the whimpering continued. 

Steven slowly stepped forward until he was stopped by Helenite. Steven tried to silently negotiate with Helenite, but Helenite was too frightened of Morion to let him progress any further. Despite her protests, Steven knew the gems weren’t going to back down. Even he was starting to worry. Whatever was in that room she was bolting shut didn’t sound happy. Part of him regretted it, but he sidestepped and darted past Helenite. 

“Wait!” Helenite called out. Morion glared daggers at Helenite just before the whimpering stopped and was replaced by a low growl. Steven stopped for a moment, then continued forward. The gems followed, moving with caution but not letting Steven get too far away from them. Steven stopped in front of Morion. 

“Please, Helenite was telling us about how you help gems here, we help gems too! It’s just…” He hesitated. “The last gems that showed up on Earth weren’t very nice. I get it, you don’t trust us because you want to protect this place, and you want to protect the other gems here, but isn’t there anything we can do to prove we’re on the same side?”

“No.” Morion answered immediately. “Even if you could, it doesn’t matter. I do not decide the rules. I enforce them.”

“Can’t you make an exception?”

“I can.” She said, which made Steven smile. “But I will not.”

“Why?” Steven asked. The growling creature barked, causing Steven to jump back in surprise. The gems reflexively retrieved their weapons. Pearl quietly asked Steven to step away from the door, but he stayed still as Morion continued. 

“I have no reason to. The risk you pose outweighs the usefulness you could possibly have. You are correct that I look after this place, but I do not do it out of kindness. It is my duty. The only exceptions made are those that benefit this facility or those under its care.”

A sharp whistle cut through the air, causing the gems and Steven to flinch. It rang up from the stairwell, a distinct tune repeated twice in a row. Everyone, including Helenite, looked confused. Even Morion’s stern gaze drifted from the Crystal gems to the stairs. The patient barked twice, as if in response, and a heavy slam pushed against the door with even more force than before. Rather than simply thrashing about, it now seemed to be actively trying to break the door down. Morion turned to face the door. 

“Please leave.” She said dismissively to the others as she stood firm and braced herself. The patient growled deeply, and the sound of something rough and rock like scraping against the floor preceded another powerful slam. The brace buckled. 

Garnet pushed Steven behind her. Steven looked on, confused and afraid, trying to decide what to do. Helenite was frozen in place, hands half lifted as if caught mid-gesture, unable to decide what to do. Pearl looked down at Helenite timidly and inched forward a bit, as if considering reaching out and pulling her back as well. Amethyst was the only one who didn’t seem afraid, instead leaning forward with genuine curiosity. Steven called out in a whispered tone, but loud enough that it defeated the purpose of a whisper. 

“Helenite, what is that?” He asked. 

“C-Clydesdog.” Helenite responded automatically. “I-I’m sorry, she’s not normally like this, I-”

Another slam, this time accompanied by the loud snap of the brace breaking, interrupted Helenite. The door bent open, and with a triumphant series of barks, out flew a massive mound of grey and white fur that threw itself into Morion with such force that she was thrown into and pinned against the wall. The gems got their first look at the patient as Morion attempted to wrestle it into submission. It had a body shape like a horse, with large tufts of lighter fur around its front legs. Its back legs ended in paws, its front in black hooves. A long, bushy tail wagged rapidly as it twisted and turned, trying to get out of Morion’s grip around its long neck. It twisted enough that it could face the gems, an elongated horse like skull covered in more shaggy fur that lacked any discernable eyes or ears or anything else to take the attention away from a mouth that seemed far too wide and twisted into a permanent grin. The mouth hung open as it panted, its long tongue sliding across a seemingly endless row of sharp canine teeth. It snorted and sniffed at the air, two large nostrils only visible when the powerful inhales sucked long fluffy hair back into them. 

Pearl looked visibly disgusted, while Amethyst was clearly trying not to laugh at it. Clydesdog barked loudly and dug its claws and hooves against the floor, trying to get enough traction to get down the hall towards the Gems. Morion dug her heels into the floor pulling it back, grunting in effort to restrain the large beast. 

“Leave, now.” Morion shouted, her tone remaining even despite her struggle. 

Pearl grabbed Steven by the arm. “Alright Steven, let’s get going.”

“But we can’t just leave her like that!” Steven protested.

Amethyst joined in. “Pearl’s right Steven. Morion’s in charge of this creepy place, so she’s probably used to dealing with… whatever that thing is.”

“Exactly!” Steven said. “Morion and Helenite have been here all by themselves for a long time, and they finally got to meet other gems who aren’t out to get them! I don’t know what’s going on with this place, but I know they’re good guys just like us. They tried to help gems here, so maybe now we should try to help them!”

“Oh Steven…” Pearl began, but stopped when Garnet began walking forward. She advanced down the hall towards Clydesdog. Morion, still struggling to restrain the animal, looked displeased. 

“I instructed you to leave.” She said sternly. Garnet continued to slowly advance. 

“Am I to understand that you intend to ignore my orders.” Morion grunted as Clydesdog swung her into a wall again. Garnet was almost there. Morion exhaled sharply through her nose. 

“Fine.” Morion released Clydesdog. The excited animal began bounding down the hall straight towards Garnet, barking loudly. Garnet raised her hand slowly and spoke a single command. 

“Sit.”

The confused creature skidded to a halt in front of her, head cocked to the side, and sat down. The other gems came forward. 

“Woah” Amethyst said. “How’d you make it do that?”

“I didn’t.” Garnet replied. “This gem has been trained.” 

The Crystal Gems looked towards Morion, who stared back and replied “The only instruction I give to the patients here is that which is necessary for their treatment. Clydesdog is not currently receiving any kind of treatment. Additionally, if I’d known a verbal command would have halted her, I would not have resorted to restraining her physically.”

Morion looked down at Helenite, who shrugged. “Wasn’t me.”

Clydesdog barked and sniffed at Helenite affectionately. She laughed and rubbed its head. “She’s even friendlier than she usually is! I don’t know who else would have taught her to do tricks though.”

Clydesdog opened her mouth and drew her long wet tongue across Helenite’s face. Helenite smiled, then sputtered as some dripping saliva drew uncomfortably close to her mouth. Morion’s gaze was fixed on the stairwell at the end of the hall.

Pearl looked back at the stairwell and sighed, then walked up to Morion. She stood clutching her spear, her eyes darting between Morion, Helenite, and Clydesdog. She took a quick, measured breath before speaking. 

“Listen, Morion. I feel like we may have…” She briefly glanced off to the side, as if trying to remember something. “Gotten off on the wrong foot. Protecting the Earth is our job, just like protecting this place is yours. I’m sure you can understand why we had to put such an important mission before anything else, even someone else’s rules.”

Morion did not visibly react in any way, but Helenite looked touched, smiling awkwardly while wiping the rest of the canine/equine slime from her face. Pearl continued. 

“However, I think both of us could stand to be a bit more understanding.” She gestured to the others. “We are the Crystal Gems. We protected this planet alongside Rose Quartz in the war thousands of years ago.”

Pearl then gestured towards Morion expectantly. Morion stared back silently. Pearl raised a brow, certain that Morion understood what she was suggesting. 

“Helenite.” Morion began. “Did you recognize the source of that whistling sound?”

“No?” Helenite said quizzically, not sure if she was supposed to. “Did you?”

“No.” Morion glanced to the stairwell at the end of the hall, then shifted her gaze back to Pearl, who was looking irritated. Morion sighed.

“This facility was founded by a gem named Topaz.” There was a brief, but noticeable pause before Morion spoke the name Topaz, as if she had to force it out. “Are you familiar with her?”

Morion’s voice left the usual monotone when she asked the question. It sounded, for once, like an actual question rather than a statement. It even sounded a bit hopeful. Pearl hesitated before responding, searching her memory. 

“I’m afraid not.” She said at last. Morion did not react. 

“As expected. She was not a very well-known individual, and gems of her type are not generally noteworthy. She concerned herself little with the actions of others, including those lead by Rose Quartz. She did not disclose much information concerning former attachments to me either.” Morion paused, but continued. 

“She was a genius. More brilliant than any other gem I have known. It is by her hand that this facility exists, and the treatments and experiments she performed were years beyond their time. Sadly, that time has long since passed, and without her supervision there has been little progress. Until she returns, I am in sole charge.”

Helenite looked very surprised to hear Morion talking about Topaz, and listened with eyes open wide. Pearl hesitated before asking, unsure if she should. “And how long has she been gone?”

Morion raised her hand, swiping a finger across her bracelet. The holographic screen appeared once more, and with a few taps displayed a number. “One hundred and thirty five years, three months, and twelve days.”

“That’s a really long time.” Said Steven, who was listening in while reaching out to rub Clydesdog’s leg. The creature leaned over and allowed herself to be petted by Steven. “Are you sure she’s okay?”

“Yes.” Morion replied quickly. 

Steven scratched behind Clydesdog’s ears. Clydesdog began to vibrate. “Well, where is she?”

“I do not know.”

Steven looked concerned. “Do you know when she’ll be back?” 

“No.” Morion continued to press things on her screen. Although it was backwards from his perspective, Steven could make out the word “LOCKDOWN” in red letters.

While Steven and Morion were talking, the Garnet and Pearl had retreated once more and were whispering amongst themselves. Amethyst joined Steven and Helenite in playing with Clydesdog. Amethyst shapeshifted into a copy of Clydesdog, which seemed to confuse the original terribly. She tilted her head, expecting the purple mirror image to do the same, and when it didn’t Clydesdog whined. Things felt more relaxed now, the tension loosened a bit from before. There was still sense of distrust that Steven could feel in the air between the Crystal Gems and Morion, but he finally felt like they were working through it. 

And then, there was another whistling. Morion raised an eyebrow as she looked at her screen. The tune was different this time, more complex. Clydesdog’s ears twitched and she closed her mouth, listening carefully.

“There are no active patients out of their rooms aside from Clydesdog and Helenite, according to this.” Morion said. “Something is wrong.”

Clydesdog barked once and stood up. She sniffed Steven’s hair, then grabbed the back of his shirt with her teeth and picked him up.

“Wh-hey!” Steven said with a laugh than turned to a confused cry when Clydesdog began bounding down the hall. 

Helenite called after them. “Clydesdog wait!”

Amethyst quickly shifted back into her normal form. “Hey! Get back here!”

Both Helenite and Amethyst ran after Clydesdog and Steven, while Morion remained motionless, glaring at her screen. Garnet and Pearl tried to grab Clydesdog as she shot past, but found the body they tried to grasp beneath all the fur to twist and write in their grasp in a bizarre way. They were unable to keep hold of anything but clumps of loose fur as it darted down the hall and into the stairwell, descending deeper into the facility.

“Guuuys!” Steven called out as he was dragged off to parts unknown.


	4. Labyrinth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal Gems split up to find Steven. Garnet has a plan, but a mysterious stranger getting involved could upset the odds.

“You should have stopped them!” Garnet raised her voice to Morion, who hadn’t looked up from her screen. 

“Too fast.” Morion replied flatly. “Besides, attending to the cause of this is more important than restraining Clydesdog. She is one of the more manageable patients.”

“But what about the rest of them?” Pearl interjected. “Steven just got dragged off to who knows where, by some whistling maniac!”

“I will retrieve Steven, but it will have to wait. Identifying the patient who trained Clydesdog in the first place takes priority, and I can only attend to one thing at a time.”

Pearl growled and rubbed her temples with frustration. Garnet scowled, but quickly calmed herself. 

“Then we split up.” Garnet suggested. “We can help you search the facility. We will find Steven and the whistler.”

“No.” Morion responded.

“I was not asking permission.” Garnet said. “The faster you get us to where we need to go, the faster we’ll be done and out of your hair. But we will look for Steven, whether you help us or not.”

Morion looked up at Garnet and stared at her for several seconds. She lowered her arm and the screen disappeared. She spoke in a mildly annoyed tone. “Fine, but not without escort. Deputy Helenite.”

“Yeah?” Helenite snapped to attention upon being referred to as Deputy. 

“You will accompany two of the gems to level four.” Morion continued. “I shall accompany the other two to level five.”

Helenite glanced up at Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst. She looked confused. “But there’s…”

“What about the sixth floor?” Pearl asked.

“It is not possible for Steven to have been taken there.” Morion said. 

“You thought it wasn’t possible for this troublemaker to be out of their cell in the first place!” Pearl shouted. 

“Room.” Morion corrected. “Not cell.”

Pearl started to object again, but Garnet placed a hand on her shoulder silently.

“We can only search two floors at a time anyway Pearl. Let’s just get started.” She looked over her shoulder and looked at Amethyst. Morion couldn’t tell what was said, but Amethyst smiled and nodded in response.

Pearl sighed. “Alright, let’s just get going.”

Garnet addressed the group. “Pearl and Amethyst will go with Helenite to level four, while Morion and myself check level five.”

Morion didn’t seem happy that Garnet was giving orders, but did not object to anything said. Helenite looked nervous, but didn’t say anything either. Without another word, Pearl and Amethyst headed for the stairwell. 

“W-wait!” Helenite said as she ran after them. Garnet began to follow, but Morion stopped her. 

“This way.” She gestured in the opposite direction, towards the set of elevator doors at the other end of the hall. “It will be more advantageous for us to take the elevator.”

Garnet stared back silently. Not waiting for a reply, Morion turned and walked down the hallway. Garnet looked back at the stairs once more before following. She’d already seen the most likely place to find Steven, but it never hurt to have a little extra insurance.

 

“Wait up!” Helenite called as she nearly fell down the stairs trying to keep up with Pearl and Amethyst. There were two flights of stairs between the third and fourth floors instead of one, giving the Crystal Gems enough time to get ahead of her. Helenite reached the fourth floor, out of breath, to find Pearl standing in the doorway waiting for her. 

“Where’s Amethyst?” Helenite asked.

“She um, went on ahead.” Pearl said after a brief pause. “We’d better get going if we’re going to catch up with her.”

“Oh no.” Helenite said. “Morion’s gunna kill me if she finds out I lost one of you already!”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll find her.” Pearl spoke in a reassuring tone. “Just think of it like another tour.”

Helenite didn’t seem convinced, but she nodded and stepped cautiously ahead of Pearl. “Okay, I just… I don’t really like it down here. Stay close behind me, okay?”

Pearl looked around. The hall was similar to the ones above it, but much taller. She got the sense there was much more to this level than the ones above it. “Understood. Lead the way.”

 

Amethyst snickered to herself as she tip-toed down the stairs. She could hear Pearl covering for her up above when Helenite showed up. She was kind of surprised when Garnet asked her to snoop around the fifth floor, but certainly wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity like that. With Garnet keeping Morion busy she’d have free reign to snoop around. Pearl didn’t seem too happy about getting stuck with Helenite, but Amethyst didn’t wait around for her to complain. She got down to the fifth floor without making a sound. 

Every floor looked the same for the most part, but this one felt different. There were three sturdy looking metal bars horizontally across each door, and the lights were dimmer. She ran down the hall, keeping an ear out for Steven noises. None of the doors had windows, and there were dents and scratch marks on the walls. Amethyst thought back to when Helenite said the patients got worse the lower down you went, and wondered what could have been two levels worse than the furball of a corrupted gem that knocked Morion around. The hallway ended and split into two more halls on the left and right, unlike the floors up above. She looked left first and didn’t see anything, but looked right and almost jumped back. 

Standing there, leaning against the wall, was a gem. She was a pale yellow color, with long white hair and curly horns coming out the sides of her head. She had on a black leather jacket, which curiously wasn’t part of the holographic clothing part of her gem form, and it looked pretty old. She stared straight ahead at the opposite wall with a smug grin on her lips. She didn’t move, or blink, or do anything to signify that she noticed Amethyst was standing there. Somehow though, it seemed like she wanted Amethyst to talk to her. 

“Sup.” Amethyst said as she approached. The gem didn’t move her body at all, but her eyes turned to look down at Amethyst. She giggled softly. 

“Hey there little cat. What brings you to Wonderland?” The gem looked off to the side and their smile grew wider, clearly amused by something.

“I’m looking for a human kid. Steven.”

The gem looked at Amethyst, but didn’t say anything. 

“About this big?” Amethyst held up a hand to Steven’s approximate height. “Black hair, star on his chest? Kind of goofy looking?”

“Mmmm,” The gem hummed. She raised a hand and stroked her chin slowly, shutting her eyes in deep thought. “Steven, Steeeven…”

She opened them and smiled broadly, her white teeth shining in the dim light. “Did I eat something named Steven today?”

Amethyst felt a chill go through her body. Something about the gem’s demeanor made it seem like she was completely serious. She played off her concern. “Very funny.”

The gem giggled a bit louder this time. “Thanks, you’re pretty funny yourself kitten.”

Amethyst scowled. “It’s Amethyst. Who are you anyway?”

The gem moved away from the wall and crossed her arms. She sauntered over to Amethyst and leaned down to look at her. The gems eyes rolled up and down before she straightened back up and responded. 

“Tell you what, little cat, I like you. Most gems, like your friends upstairs, call me Goldie, but you can call me Pyrite.”

“Have you been spying on us?” Amethyst said in a suspicious tone. “Are you the one bossing around that freaky dog thing?”

Pyrite blinked slowly and shook her head. “One question at a time babe, I just woke up from a nap.”

Amethyst became exasperated. “Well pick one and answer it then!”

Pyrite’s shoulders shook as she laughed. “Well I wouldn’t call it spying, but I know you and some other gems showed up and gave poor Morion an aneurism. Nice work by the way, couldn’t have done better myself.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Whatever. So have you seen Steven or not?”

Pyrite shrugged. “Kinda. Not really.”

Amethyst groaned. “Forget it. I’ll find him myself.”

She stomped past Pyrite, who quietly added “Or what’s left of him.”

Amethyst stopped. “What?”

Pyrite was silent. 

“If you’ve got something to say then say it!” Amethyst demanded. 

“Oh I’ve got a lot of things to say little cat. Especially to you.” Her voice deepened and she looked down at Amethyst with eyes half open, and a wide smile on her face. “You need to lighten up. Wanna hear a joke?”

“No.” Amethyst responded. 

“What’s got two legs, and is red all over?” Pyrite continued anyway. Amethyst didn’t ask what, but looked confused enough for Pyrite to continue. “Half of Steven.”

Pyrite started laughing again, her obnoxious, sadistic cackle echoing through the quiet hallways. “Get it? Cause he’s probably been ripped in-”

“Knock it off!” Amethyst shouted. “If you did something to Steven I’m gunna-“

“Gunna what?” Pyrite said eagerly, eyes open wide for the first time. “Grab a ladder, come up here and do something about it?”

Amethyst’s fists were clenched tight. She knew the gem was trying to get under her skin, but it was working. She struggled to contain her frustration before turning her back on the gem and heading towards the left hallway instead. 

“Aw, don’t be like that Amethyst.” Pyrite called after her. “I was just jokin’ around. Besides, you’re going the wrong way.”

Amethyst stopped. “And why would I listen to you?”

“How do you think I knew what was going on upstairs?” She pointed to the side of her head. “I’ve got real good hearing, and I’m picking up a total lack of human screams from that direction. Or any other human noises for that matter.”

Amethyst looked conflicted, both wanting to deal with Pyrite and wanting to get as far away from her as possible. “Either tell me where Steven is, or I’m out of here. No more jokes.”

“Sure thing, sweet stuff, but I can’t exactly give you directions. This place is a maze. I’d just be going “take a left at the bleak, dimly lit hall past the bleak, dimly lit hall” over and over. Just follow me, alright?” Pyrite turned and started walking down the hallway. Amethyst followed, still uncertain of what this gem was up to. It couldn’t hurt to keep an eye on her though, she had to explore this place on way or another. 

 

Morion and Garnet stood side by side in the elevator as it descended. Morion watched her holographic screen, waiting for any sign of activity. Whoever was causing trouble hadn’t gone through any locked doors and set off anymore alarms, meaning they were still wandering the halls somewhere. There wasn’t any sign of Clydesdog or Steven either. The screen flickered off as she put her hands behind her back and waited for the elevator doors to open. Garnet was the first off the elevator, moving with purpose down the hallway. Morion watched silently, following close behind. They walked in silence past doors barred shut with metal beams. Garnet stopped in front of a set of double doors without bars or a handle. 

“That is one of the laboratories.” Morion explained without Garnet asking. “Only Topaz and I have clearance to enter.”

Garnet looked at Morion, who continued. “If anyone had entered, an alarm would have sounded. Steven is not inside.”

Garnet continued into the maze of hallways that was the fifth floor. Neither she nor Morion felt any inclination to talk. No matter where she turned Garnet couldn’t find even the possibility of running into Steven down here, but she’d foreseen that Amethyst could. She came to a stop when she heard a voice from behind one of the many barred doors. Morion stopped as well, but did not say anything. She watched Garnet closely as the voice behind the door groaned softly. There was something strange about the voice. It seemed to have a distortion to it, an echo. It sounded like it was in pain. She looked over her shoulder to Morion, expecting her to say something. Morion did not. 

Garnet turned away and continued down the hall. The voice faded into the background as she grew further away. She and Morion continued their search until they began to hear footsteps coming from the end of the hall. They stopped and waited. The footsteps grew closer and closer, but stopped before turning the corner. There was a whispering, then the footsteps started getting farther away again. Garnet quickly moved up ahead after the footsteps and saw Amethyst turning a corner up ahead. She almost called out to her, but caught herself. She didn’t want Morion to know Amethyst wasn’t still with Helenite and Pearl. Morion caught up with Garnet and stood behind her silently. Garnet lead Morion down another hallway, wondering who Amethyst could have been whispering to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vet staff are not liable for any injuries sustained while on the premises due to the fact that aliens are not covered by human law.


	5. Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helenite guides Pearl through the fourth floor, and Pearl learns more about the Vet and her guide. Meanwhile, Amethyst does not make a new friend.

Helenite rubbed her hands together, her shoulders raising and falling with every deep breath. Pearl was busy looking around for signs of Steven, but couldn’t help but be distracted. Everything about this place was so unsettling. There were strange scratches and marks on the walls and floor, metal bars on the windowless doors, and the person guiding her who knew what went on here looked scared to death. Judging by the way Helenite looked at the doors as they passed by, it was a good thing the place was on lockdown. Pearl wanted nothing more than to find Steven as quickly as possible and get out of here. She wanted to forget about this place, let them stay the secret they were before Helenite fell on Beach City. 

Helenite on the other hand didn’t know how to feel. These were the first gems she’d ever met from outside, and it seemed like they’d hated her from the moment they met. She’d been introduced breaking rules and private property, and her attempts to salvage her reputation didn’t seem to be going well. Things only went from bad to worse when Steven got into The Vet without permission, and now he’d been kidnapped by Clydesdog. Now the second scariest of the four gems she’d met today was following her through the third scariest floor of the building. Helenite hated the fourth floor. She’d only ever been down here for treatments, and Morion was always with her then. She never wandered around down here alone, and she never wanted to. The patients here weren’t friendly like Clydesdog.

“Helenite.” Pearl spoke up, causing Helenite to flinch. 

“Yeah?” She said sheepishly, looking at Pearl’s feet instead of up at her. 

“If you don’t mind me asking,” She said as she gestured to their general surroundings. “What goes on down here? Why are the doors barred? And why is it so dark?”

Helenite looked everywhere but at Pearl, and spoke softly. “This is where the labs are. Here and below here, I mean. I only ever have to come down here though, but only when Morion is giving me a checkup. I think she said something about using darker lights down here cause of the patients. Something about them getting… agitated by stuff like lights and sounds?”

“I see.” Pearl said, her voice a bit lower. “Have you ever seen any of these patients?”

“Yeah.” Helenite said quietly. 

“Are they what you’re so scared of?”

Helenite looked uncomfortable. She began to speak, but stopped. “I just want to find Steven and leave, okay?”

Pearl nodded. “Sure, but how about I walk ahead and you tell me where to go?”

Helenite thought about it, rubbing her arms. “I guess so.”

Pearl went on ahead at a faster pace, forcing Helenite to walk faster to keep up. They passed by an intersection between the hall they were in and one that ran horizontally, and Pearl could hear noises echoing from the right. She began to move that way, but was stopped by Helenite’s hand on her leg. 

“D-Don’t go that way.” She insisted. 

“Why not?” Pearl asked, listening close and trying to tell if the noise sounded like Steven. It sounded like a distant, distorted voice, and it seemed to be laughing. 

“He’s not gunna be that way, Clydesdog wouldn’t go over there, I don’t wanna go over there!” Helenite was pleading now. 

“Helenite, I understand you’re scared, but I have to find Steven. If you want you can wait here while I investigate.” Pearl didn’t wait for an answer before speed walking down the hall. 

“No please!” Helenite called out. For a few tense seconds she couldn’t decide what to do, but finally gave in and ran after Pearl. The sound grew louder as Pearl followed after it through the hallway, but it became clear that it wasn’t Steven. She slowed down and moved slowly, creeping down the hall until she came to a corner. She peeked around and looked down the hall to see a large figure hunched over, leaning against a wall. Helenite crept slowly up beside Pearl and peeked around the corner as well, but retreated as soon as she saw the figure. She began pulling on Pearl’s sash as hard as she could. Pearl looked down to protest, but Helenite was frantically shaking her head and looked completely terrified. There would be no negotiating with her. The figure began to make the noise again, which from up close sounded like someone had recorded a single second of three people laughing on an old record and was playing it on loop over and over. Feeling a bit scared herself, Pearl slowly backed away and left the figure. 

As they got some distance between them and where they’d encountered the figure, Helenite started coughing. She kept her mouth shut and tried to suppress it to keep from making noise, but the coughing continued for several uncomfortable seconds. 

“Are you alright?” Pearl asked .

“Uh-huh.” Helenite responded. The gem on her forehead was starting to look warped again, and Helenite overall looked sicker. 

Pearl sighed. “Wandering around like this won’t do us any good if we’re headed places Clydesdog wouldn’t go. Where do you think Clydesdog would have taken Steven?”

“I don’t know. I mean, she’s not acting like she usually would. Clydesdog doesn’t like going down here either, and I don’t know who was whistling like that. Whoever did it probably called her.”

“Okay, that’s a good place to start. How many other staff members are there besides Morion?”

Helenite hesitated before responding. “None.”

“Alright, how many patients are there that could have been whistling from down here?”

“I don’t know.” She said. “Sometimes some of them make noises… but I don’t think they really understand what they’re doing. Most of the ones down here just kind of groan, I guess? Miss Terry can whistle, maybe it was her?”

“Alright, let’s go see Miss Terry then.” Pearl said. Helenite seemed to regret what she’d said, but didn’t protest. She pointed down the hall to direct Pearl, but didn’t let go of Pearl’s sash. They continued onwards for a while. Helenite had another suppressed coughing fit. The coughing made Pearl uncomfortable, it sounded painful even to her. The last time she heard a gem cough like that was when Amethyst cracked her gem. It was hard to think of someone feeling like that on a regular basis. She couldn’t help but wonder what Morion was doing to poor Helenite, or what had been done when she was “made”. Everything about this place was sketchy. 

After she finished coughing, Helenite spoke, her voice still a bit scratchy. “I’m sorry about the French fry.”

“The what?” Pearl responded. 

“The one I knocked over. I’m really sorry.” She looked down at the floor. 

“Oh.” Pearl said, having honestly forgotten about it. “Well, it’s fine. I’m sure we’ve knocked over our fair share of food based restaurant signs before.”

Helenite smiled. “So you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be?” Pearl asked. Helenite didn’t respond, but she seemed happier. They kept walking for a bit before Pearl asked another question. 

“You said Morion… made you, right?”

“Uh, yeah.” Helenite responded. 

“Did she make anyone else like you? From a shattered gem?”

“No, I’m the only one. Morion said she’s not allowed to start new experiments, just finish the ones Topaz was working on before she left. Topaz started trying to fix me, or I guess trying to fix the gem I used to be, but I guess she never finished.” 

“I see.” Pearl said as she began to wonder just how big this floor was. She was starting to hear that strange laughter from behind her again. “Are there any other experimented on gems here?”

“Well yeah, a couple. Most of them didn’t work out like they were supposed to though. Even I didn’t work like I was supposed to. I think the closest Morion ever got was with Pyrite.”

Pearl stopped and looked down just before Helenite corrected herself. “I mean, Goldie. Don’t tell her I told you her real name.”

Pearl frowned, but didn’t say anything. “Your secret is safe with me.”

The strange imitation of laughter rang into existence again, closer this time. It was following them. Helenite heard it as well this time. She came to a sudden stop and started tugging at Pearl’s sash again. 

“W-we gotta go!” She stammered despite being frozen with fear. “We gotta go right now! Hurry!”

Pearl grabbed Helenite by the arm and started running. Helenite panted heavily trying to keep up. She started coughing, this time unable to suppress it, and the harder she coughed the more she slowed down. Eventually her legs seemed to give out beneath her and she fell down. Pearl skidded to a stop. 

“Helenite!” She called out. Helenite pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, unable to respond through the violent coughing fit. The gem on her forehead was completely malformed, no longer resembling its original shape. With each cough, Helenite’s physical body began to distort and glitch in places. Pearl looked down the hall and retrieved her spear from her gem. She stepped past Helenite and waited, pointing the blade of her weapon at corner. A long, thick hand covered in what looked like black tape reached around, followed by a head also completely wrapped. Through gaps in the tape peeked four eyes, each a different size, shape and color. It made the noise again, like a skipping record being played at the end of an empty cave. 

“Get back!” Pearl commanded. “I’m warning you!”

Helenite was still unable to stop coughing, and now it seemed she was unable to breathe, gasping desperately in between hacking. Her eyes were full of terror and fixed on the figure, while one hand reached up into her hair and clumsily searched for her stabilizing wand. It fell to the floor with a clatter. 

The figure threw itself at the floor and writhed around, arching what was presumably its back and swiping at the ground with its right, and only, arm. Its entire body was wrapped up in black tape, which it appeared to be struggling to escape. It inched across the floor towards Pearl. 

“Don’t come any closer!” Pearl insisted, swinging her spear at it. The figure either did not recognize the potential danger the weapon posed, or it did not care. It continued to advance. It continued to laugh. Pearl thrust her spear into the creature, causing it to let out a foul screech. It recoiled, rolling across the floor in the opposite direction. Pearl looked back to find Helenite curled up on the floor, her stabilizing wand in hand. She was still coughing, but otherwise wasn’t moving. Her entire body was beginning to distort now. 

“Helenite!” She called. Helenite didn’t respond. Pearl looked back at the figure, which was getting to its feet and looked ready to pounce again. She swung her spear at it, and this time it seemed to get the message. It retreated back behind the corner, but continued to peek around and stare. Pearl retreated slowly, waiting to see if it would try to follow her, then ran over to Helenite. She rolled her over to find Helenite’s gem practically dripping down her face. Helenite wasn’t coughing anymore. Her eyes were shut, and she laid still.

“Oh no.” Pearl said softly. She grabbed the wand and examined it, thankfully it only had one button. She pressed it against Helenite’s gem, which was so softened by this point the tip of the wand sank into it. Pearl pressed the button and it began to emit a bright light. Helenite’s gem began to shine, and the melting stopped. It crept back into its proper place, and began to reform itself. Slowly, her gem began to return to normal. Helenite started coughing again, and her eyes opened. 

“P-Pearl?” She said in a rough, raspy voice. 

“It’s alright Helenite. You’re going to be fine.” Pearl said with a smile. She looked over her shoulder to see the figure was gone. She could hear it stomping down the hall. Helenite pushed herself up with one hand and grabbed hold of the stabilizing wand. 

“I’m sorry.” She said with a bit more energy in her voice. “If I wasn’t so scared, I wouldn’t have-”

“There’s nothing to be sorry for.” Pearl insisted. “I thought that thing was pretty scary too, but the other Gems and I fight monsters like that all the time.”

“Really?” Helenite said. Her gem was back to its proper shape now, and was beginning to regain its shine. “You guys sound so cool! I wish I was strong like you guys and Morion.”

Pearl smiled. “Morion usually keeps you safe while you’re down here, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah.” Helenite said. Her gem looked like it was back to normal now, but she continued to shine the light on it. “You know, sometimes, when I get scared, Morion tells me a story to help me relax.”

“Morion tells stories?” Pearl said in surprise. 

“Well, she tells me about one of the patients, or about Topaz. It’s more like a report than a story. Maybe you can tell me more about you and the other Crystals.” Helenite said optimistically. 

“Crystal Gems.” Pearl corrected. “And sure, but we have to keep looking for Steven, alright?”

“Of course!” Helenite beamed. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s okay. Clydesdog wouldn’t actually hurt him, she’s really nice.”

 

The mixed sound of hooves and padded feet pounding against the floor rang out through the halls, overpowered only by the sound of Steven shouting. 

“Woooah! Bad dog, horse, thing! Slow down! Sit!” Steven’s commands carried no weight with Clydesdog. Whether his voice lacked the force necessary to reach her ears or Clydesdog was ignoring him was uncertain. He tried to reach up and pull himself onto Clydesdog’s head, but couldn’t get a grip on anything but fur. Whenever he tugged her fur, she veered to the left or the right, sending him flying into a wall. He’d learned quickly not to do that. 

“Where are you taking me?” He shouted. Clydesdog didn’t respond. He tried whistling, but it was difficult to do while being swung around. She moved swiftly through the twisting hallways, led by an unseen guide, until she abruptly stopped and dug its heels and began sliding across the floor, almost falling over onto her side before coming to a halt. Steven finally stopped screaming, but let out one last shout when Clydesdog dropped him without warning. He hit the floor with a soft thud, then looked up to see another door, remarkable only because the metal bars were slid to the side. He got up and wondered if the door was open, and for that matter if he could open it even if it was. He wasn’t even sure if he should. 

“Is this where you wanted to take me?” Steven asked Clydesdog. She only stared. Steven reached out and touched the door. It unceremoniously slid open without any glowing. The smell of smoke and energy drinks hit his nostrils as he gazed into the blood red room. In fact, looking at what was dripping down the walls, it looked like it was actually…

“Is that… cherry syrup?” Steven cautiously stepped inside and examined the wall closely. It smelled strongly of sugar, and upon closer inspection via taste test was definitely petrified syrup. It was raspberry instead of cherry though. Having cleared up the bloody walls scare, he now wondered how to feel about the vast assortment of animal skulls and disembodied horns mounted on the walls, melted partially into the layer of syrup. Leaning against one wall were several expensive and intricately designed electric guitars, along with two amps and a loose pile of cables. 

“This person has really good expensive taste in instruments.” Steven observed. “I wonder how they afford all this. Woah, some of these are signed!”

Aside from the skulls and horns, the walls also had several posters for scary looking bands. Most of their names were written in a really intense font with a lot of sharp edges that Steven couldn’t read. There were a lot of guys with long hair and angry expressions wielding instruments that looked too pointy for actual use.

“That’s… cool.” Steven said with an uncertain hesitation in his voice. He was a little intimidated, but he got the sense this kind of stuff was supposed to make him feel that way so it wasn’t rude. There was a bed with a hand carved wooden frame, topped only with a pile of what looked like metal shards. He reached out and touched it to find it was actually just tinsel on top of a normal mattress, but that still didn’t seem very comfortable. 

Next to the bed was a set of shelves lined with neatly organized CD’s. They were all bands with aggressive names like “God of Hyperdeath”, with song names like “Dark, Darker, yet Darker”. There was also a pile of dirty laundry in the middle of the floor, but even that looked like it had been carefully arranged. Spending time around Amethyst had given Steven a good sense for messes, and this was not a naturally produced mess. It was more like when Amethyst said Pearl couldn’t make a mess if she tried, and Pearl reluctantly attempted it, only to clean it up immediately after. 

“Hey Clydesdog, is this your room?” Steven asked. Clydesdog’s mouth hung open in a silent, breathless pant. She scratched her side with her back leg. 

“Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Steven said with a smile. He looked at the CD case he still held in his hand. “You’re a bit too soft to match this room. The question is, who did want you to bring me here, and why? And, where are they?”

Steven tensed when he heard a quiet shushing sound from out in the hallway. He turned around to see Clydesdog looking off to the right, with something that resembled a smile on her face. 

“Who’s there?” Steven asked, creeping closer to the door. Clydesdog’s ears fell and laid flat, she bowed her head and started to whimper, but didn’t move. Steven peeked around the door to see something that made him scream immediately. A massive skull with curved, ram-like horns was peeking around the corner, a single massive eye visible from the angle at which it glared down the hallway. Its maw opened as it bellowed, revealing jagged canines and boulder-like molars. 

“How dare you trespass in my lair, puny human?” The beast cried in a voice like stones grinding against each other. A thick, muscular arm slammed onto the floor as the beast pulled itself into the hall. It had a flowing white mane like a lion, and rough scaly skin everywhere but it’s gleaming white skull.

“I’m sorry!” Steven said in between screams. “Please don’t eat me! I don’t taste like Raspberries at all!”

“That’s enough!” Came a familiar voice from behind the beast. The creature tilted its head to the side so it could look down with one eye at Amethyst, who squeezed by underneath it. “Steven!”

“Amethyst!” Steven shouted in relief. “You made a new friend! Even if it is a really scary one.”

“Ugh, not even.” Amethyst said with disgust. “She did lead me here though.”

The monster laughed, its voice much different than before. It spoke with a smooth, feminine voice and a sarcastic tone as it turned to a bright orange light and shifted shape, turning back into Pyrite. “Awww, don’t be like that. We have so many great memories between us, don’t we?”

Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Yeah, those empty grey hallways were a real riot.”

She walked over to get a closer look at Steven to make sure he was okay, and glared up at Clydesdog. She looked up from Clydesdog to the room before dots began to connect in her head. 

“Wait a second.” Amethyst began, turning around to glare daggers at Pyrite. “Your lair? Why’d Steven get taken here?”

Pyrite shrugged.

“You’re the one that trained this stupid animal, aren’t you?”

Pyrite tilted her head to the side. “What, you think I took time out of my busy schedule to train some dumb mutt of a gem just to mess with Morion, and blew my cover just to mess with a bunch of strangers who wandered in? You must think I’m really, really bored.”

Amethyst groaned in anger, clenching her fists tightly. She spoke through clenched teeth to Steven. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Steven looked saddened. He could tell Amethyst hadn’t been enjoying her time with Pyrite. He looked back at the mysterious new gem, who stood there looking at him with an expression that looked somehow predatory, almost hungry. Steven tried to give a friendly wave, but his hands had started to sweat and he accidentally dropped the CD he still hadn’t set down. It clattered against the floor and a crack went across the face. 

“My disc!” Pyrite sprinted forward and dramatically fell to her knees, power sliding up to the fallen CD. Her hair fell over her face as she leaned over, seemingly mourning the damaged case. Steven was silent for a tense for seconds before starting to apologize, but when Pyrite lifted her head, she was smiling. 

“Dude, check it out, you took the lead singer’s head off.” She showed him the case, and the long crack that went right across the neck of the stern looking man wielding a guitar. 

“Couldn’t have done a better job myself.” Pyrite continued as she admired the perfectly damaged CD case. She slipped it into her pocket and poked Steven in the forehead, causing him to flinch. 

“Tell you what, I’m so impressed I’m totally not going to eat you anymore.”

“Anymore?” Steven said rubbing his forehead. “Uh, thanks?”

Amethyst grabbed Steven’s arm and began guiding him down the hall, away from Pyrite.

“Hey! Don’t you need me to give your directions, kitten?” Pyrite called after them. 

“No thanks! I got it.” Amethyst shouted without looking back. 

Steven decided not to pry into what Pyrite had done to get Amethyst’s nerves so much. “Where’s Garnet and Pearl?”

“Looking for you, dude. Well, that and trying to snoop around this place.” Amethyst responded as she looked around, trying to figure out how to loop back around and get to the stairs she’d come down without going back past Pyrite again. She could feel Pyrite’s gaze on her back still, she could practically hear her saying “you’re going the wrong way” already.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Morion seems pretty strict about the whole top-secret-everything rule.” Steven said quietly, also feeling Pyrite’s gaze on their back, even as they turned a corner and headed down a long, dark hallway. 

“That’s why we’re snoopin’. No way some creepy underground lab that makes fake gems and keeps corrupted gems in locked rooms isn’t hiding something evil. For all we know that Topaz chick was doing experiments for Homeworld, or some kind of mad scientist stuff.”

Steven thought about it. “Well, she’s was only trying to help people right? Even if she was from Homeworld, she stayed down here helping other gems. Morion’s just doing her job trying to keep everyone safe, and Helenite just wanted to make friends. I don’t think any of them are really bad, even Pyrite.”

Amethyst stopped and looked over her shoulder at Steven. She squinted at him. 

“Really!” Steven defended. “The way she puts all that effort into looking scary and trying to get under people skin, she’s just trying to be cool, in her own way. One time Lars and me-”

“Steven.” Amethyst interrupted, rolling her eyes. “This isn’t like that. Some people seem suspicious, or like they’re huge jerks, cause they are! It’s cool you always want to look for the best in people, but sometimes the best they have still sucks.”

She continued tugging Steven along, pulling him around a corner only to suddenly stop, causing him to run into her. He started to ask what was wrong, but looked past her to see Pyrite was leaning against a wall, looking straight ahead and pretending not to notice they were there. Amethyst grumbled and turned around, dragging Steven in the opposite direction. Amethyst aimlessly wandered through a few more hallways, trying in vain to recognize particular dents or marks on the walls, until she ran into Pyrite yet again. 

“Stop following me!” Amethyst’s shouting had no effect on Pyrite, who appeared to be very amused by the wall across from. This continued for several minutes, with Amethyst taking off in whatever direction Pyrite wasn’t, and Pyrite somehow managing to show up again. Amethyst was so busy trying to think of a way to ditch Pyrite that she forgot to continue actively searching for the exit. Despite this, she turned a corner and was surprised to see she’d wound up at the stairs. Both she and Steven breathed a sigh of relief. As they approached the stairs, they heard a voice call out from behind them, a voice that sounded like Pearl. 

“Amethyst!” It called. Amethyst turned around to instead see Pyrite leaning against the wall once more, this time staring directly at her. 

“I do a pretty sweet impression, right?” She smirked. “You should collect your pal on the way out. I can hear her boring stories from here. I’m gunna fall asleep again at this rate.”

Amethyst grumbled something in response and stormed up the stairs. Steven looked back at Pyrite, wondering if he should say something. He settled on giving a friendly wave goodbye. Pyrite tilted her head back in response and watched as he ascended the stairs. With both visitors out of sight, Pyrite glanced up at the ventilation shaft on the ceiling. The echo of a story from long ago, told by a voice far away, rained down on her. 

“Crystal Gems huh?” She said with a snort. “What a lame name.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's my first published work of fan fiction. I'm really open to critiques and helpful advice, so don't hold back.
> 
> But if you wanted to leave encouraging words or compliments, I wouldn't exactly hate it.
> 
> I don't know how the SU fandom feels about OC's so I hope I haven't sinned.


End file.
